Modular Fabric Articles and Modules

ABSTRACT

A module utilized in construction of a modular fabric article includes a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/931,427, filed May 23, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to modular fabric articles and modules utilized in construction of modular fabric articles.

BACKGROUND

Children often desire the security of a familiar article, such as a blanket. In addition, because of a child's attachment to a particular article, family members and friends often desire to have a role in the article, whether it be through purchase of the article or sewing personal items into the article. However, such efforts are often fruitless in that the result is a child having too many articles and/or the child's individual article having a number of stitched attachments.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of a module utilized in construction of a modular fabric article includes a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.

One embodiment of a kit for constructing a modular fabric article includes a plurality of modules, wherein each module comprises a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.

One embodiment of a blanket includes a plurality of modules, wherein each module comprises a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claming the present invention, it is believed that the same will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary module according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of another exemplary module according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of another exemplary module according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of another exemplary module according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of exemplary modules reversibly connected to one another according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top view of exemplary modules reversibly connected to one another according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a top view of exemplary modules reversibly connected to one another according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be discussed in relation to the figures, embodiments of a module utilized in construction of modular fabric articles may include a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners. It should be understood, however, that embodiments of modules may further include additional elements incorporated into the fabric panel and/or fasteners. For example, in particular embodiments described herein, the fabric panel further includes an unadorned area for personalization by a user.

Referring to FIG. 1, module 100 includes fabric panel 200. Fabric panel 200 may encompass any shape and/or size. Non-limiting examples of shapes upon which fabric panel 200 may be derived include circle, oval, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, any other variety of polygon and any irregular shapes. FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of module 100 that includes a square-shaped fabric panel 200, FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of module 100 that includes a rectangle-shaped fabric panel 200 and FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of module 100 that includes a triangle-shaped fabric panel 200. However, in other embodiments of module 100, fabric panel 200 may take alternate shapes, as fabric panel 200 is not limited to the shapes of the illustrated embodiments.

The size dimensions of fabric panel 200 will depend on the intended application for a particular embodiment of module 100. In embodiments of module 100 that are intended for utilization in construction of a infant blanket, fabric panel 200 may have a length of about two inches to about twenty inches and a width of about two inches to about twenty inches. However, in embodiments of module 100 that are intended for utilization in construction of an adult blanket, fabric panel 200 may have a length of about six inches to about forty inches and a width of about six inches to about forty inches. Accordingly, the dimensions of fabric panel 200 are not meant to be limited by the recitation of the preceding examples. Fabric panel 200 may be constructed in any dimensions required for a particular application, no matter how large or small.

Fabric panel 200 may be composed of any suitable material, or combination of materials, known in the art. Non-limiting examples include fleece, cotton, nylon, rayon, wool, polyester, polyester satin, linen, silk, microfiber and other various synthetic fibers. Fabric panel 200 may comprise a single ply of material or multiple plies of material. In embodiments that include fabric panel 200 comprising multiple plies of material, batting or padding may also be disposed between the plies. However, other embodiments may include fabric panel 200 comprising multiple plies of material without the addition of batting or padding. Moreover, in embodiments that include fabric panel 200 comprising multiple plies of material, the same material need not comprise all plies, as combinations of materials may be utilized in fabric panel 200.

Material(s) of fabric panel 200 may comprise any color, and include any design or pattern. Colors, designs and/or patterns may be the same or different on the opposing faces of fabric panel 200. Further, in some embodiments, fabric panel 200 may further include an unadorned area (not shown) for personalization by a user. In such embodiments, a user may write, draw, paint, embroider, sew, or cross-stitch personalizing features onto or into the provided unadorned area.

Referring back to FIG. 1, module 100 also includes a plurality of fasteners 300. Fasteners 300 may comprise any type of fastener that will reversibly connect one module to at least one other module. The phrase “reversibly connect” herein means to connect modules to each another in a manner that can be reversed without damage to the modules. Non-limiting examples of fasteners 300 that are capable of reversibly connecting modules 100 include fabric ties, Velcro®, buttons, snaps and zippers. The illustrated embodiments of module 100 include fasteners 300 that comprise fabric ties, but such embodiments are not meant to be limiting.

For those embodiments of module 100 that include fabric ties, the ties may be of any length, thickness and/or shape. Depending on the application, the fabric ties may have a thickness of about an eighth of an inch to about two inches and a length of about one inch to about six inches. However, the dimensions of the fabric ties are not meant to be limited by the recitation of the preceding examples. Accordingly, the fabric ties may be constructed in any dimensions required for a particular application, no matter how large or small.

In addition, fasteners 300 may be attached to fabric panel 200 through any method know in the art. Non-limiting examples include heat sealing, sewing, gluing, riveting and the use of Velcro®. In the illustrated embodiments of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, module 100 includes fasteners 300 that are sewn to fabric panel 200. However, other embodiments of module 100 need not have fasteners 300 sewn to fabric panel 200.

Further, as depicted in the illustrated embodiments, the fasteners 300 may terminate in alternate fashions. Non-limiting examples include the single-point ends of FIG. 1, the dual-point ends of FIG. 2 and the squared-off ends of FIG. 3. The fabric ties may be composed of any suitable material, or combination of materials, known in the art. Non-limiting examples include fleece, cotton, nylon, rayon, wool, polyester, polyester satin, linen, silk, microfiber and other various synthetic fibers. Additionally, the material(s) may comprise any color, and include any design or pattern.

Referring to FIGS. 5-7, to assemble modular fabric articles, a user aligns individual modules 100 in a particular pattern and reversibly connects fasteners 300. In the illustrated embodiments utilizing fabric ties as fasteners 300, a user should reversibly connect the fasteners by securing and/or tying the fabric ties of adjacent modules. A user may utilize any securing method and/or knot that reversibly connects fasteners 300 of adjacent modules.

A user may reversibly connect various modules 100 to form various modular fabric articles. Non-limiting examples of modular fabric articles include blankets, sheets, pillow cases, comforters, wall decorations, rugs, and clothing. Specific examples of potential modular fabric articles are depicted in FIGS. 5-7. Particularly, referring to FIG. 5, a modular fabric article 500 may comprise a square module and a triangle module that would be the start of shoulder-wrap modular fabric article 600, as depicted in FIG. 6. In another embodiment, a plurality of square modules may be combined to form blanket modular fabric article 700 of FIG. 7. Of course, any number of various articles are possible.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the above teaching. Accordingly, while some of the diverse embodiments of the anchoring devices have been discussed specifically, other embodiments will be apparent or relatively easily developed by those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, this invention is intended to embrace all alternatives, modifications and variations that have been discussed herein, and others that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the claims. 

1. A module utilized in construction of a modular fabric article, the module comprising a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.
 2. The module of claim 1, wherein the modular fabric article is a modular article of bedding.
 3. The module of claim 2, wherein the article of bedding is a blanket.
 4. The module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fasteners are at least one of fabric ties, Velcro®, buttons, snaps, zippers or combinations thereof.
 5. The module of claim 1, wherein the fabric panel is in the shape of a polygon.
 6. The module of claim 5, wherein the polygon is one of a triangle or a quadrilateral.
 7. The module of claim 1, wherein the fabric panel is constructed of at least one of fleece, cotton, nylon, rayon, wool, polyester, polyester satin, linen, silk, microfiber or combinations thereof.
 8. The module of claim 1, wherein the fabric panel further comprises an unadorned area to be personalized by a user.
 9. A kit for constructing a modular fabric article, the kit comprising a plurality of modules, wherein each module comprises a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.
 10. The kit of claim 9, wherein the modular fabric article is an article of bedding.
 11. The kit of claim 10, wherein the article of bedding is a blanket.
 12. The kit of claim 9, wherein the plurality of fasteners are at least one of fabric ties, Velcro®, buttons, snaps, zippers and combinations thereof.
 13. The kit of claim 9, wherein the fabric panel is in the shape of a polygon.
 14. The kit of claim 13, wherein the polygon is one of a triangle or a quadrilateral.
 15. The kit of claim 9, wherein the fabric panel is constructed of at least one of fleece, cotton, nylon, rayon, wool, polyester, polyester satin, linen, silk, microfiber and combinations thereof.
 16. The kit of claim 9, wherein the fabric panel further comprises an unadorned area to be personalized by a user.
 17. A blanket comprising a plurality of modules, wherein each module comprises a fabric panel and a plurality of fasteners disposed along at least a portion of a perimeter of the fabric panel, wherein fasteners of one module reversibly connect to fasteners of at least one other module.
 18. The blanket of claim 17, wherein the plurality of fasteners are at least one of fabric ties, Velcro®, buttons, snap, zippers and combinations thereof.
 19. The blanket of claim 17, wherein the fabric panel is in the shape of at least one polygon.
 20. The blanket of claim 18, wherein the at least one polygon is one of a triangle and/or a quadrilateral. 